Mike O’Malley helps usher in N.H. Film Festival Talks about premiere of his movie ‘Certainty’

By KENNETH DOBROV

kdobrov@fosters.com

fosters.com

By KENNETH DOBROV

kdobrov@fosters.com

Posted Oct. 12, 2012 at 3:15 AM

By KENNETH DOBROV

kdobrov@fosters.com

Posted Oct. 12, 2012 at 3:15 AM

PORTSMOUTH — N.H. native actor and writer Mike O’Malley has brought his latest film, “Certainty,” to the 12th annual New Hampshire Film Festival.The festival, which began Thursday and runs through Sunday, will showcase 99 films at locations around downtown Portsmouth including The Music Hall and its Loft, the Moffatt-Ladd House and the Seacoast Repertory Theater. The Discover Portsmouth Center will hold discussion panels over the weekend.O’Malley produced and wrote the screenplay for “Certainty,” which screened Thursday night and will again on Saturday Oct. 13 at the Seacoast Repertory Theater at 2 p.m. Among his many credits he has appeared on the TV show “Glee” on FOX and “Yes, Dear” and has written for “Shameless” on Showtime.“Certainty” is about a couple that has to participate in a retreat called “Pre Cana” in order to get married by the Catholic Church. As they go through the program their relationship gets put to the test. It stars Tom Lipinski, who has appeared on USA’s “Suits,” Adelaide Clemens, who stars in “Silent Hill: Revelation 3D,” and Giancarlo Esposito, from AMC’s “Breaking Bad.”O’Malley grew up going to Catholic school and put some aspects of that experience from his life into the screenplay. He said that people he knew growing up influenced the characters in the film.“I was looking at an idea for a play,” O’Malley said at a press conference at the Discover Portsmouth Center. “I thought it was a very unique setting. Certainly there are friends of mine that are 20 years older than these characters who will see parts of themselves or people they know.”O’Malley said that the film and the concept of “Pre Cana” will be easier for local people to understand and relate to but believes it will be accessible to all types of people.“It’s a movie about real people and what they’re going through,” O’Malley said. “There’s humor in it and there’s intense feeling because I think that when people are in a relationship and trying to make it work it’s the most important thing to them. I think that’s one of the things people can relate to. It doesn’t matter what’s going on in the world if you’re not happy in your relationship, It’s heavy stuff ... and funny.”The director of “Certainty,” Peter Askin, said that O’Malley got him interested in working on the film. Askin directed the 2007 documentary “Trumbo” and the stage version of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.”“Mike’s writing attracted me to the film,” Askin said. “He’s a great storyteller. He’s an emotional storyteller. Those are the kind of stories that I like. The way he writes, he’s a very naturalistic, human writer.”O’Malley said writing a screenplay was a messy process. “It’s funny when you’re making a film, when you’re trying to get it going it feels like you’re on an island,” O’Malley said. “It feels like you’re by yourself trying to get anyone you know, who knows someone else to get to pay attention.” O’Malley discussed how he grew up in Nashua and performed in plays at Prescott Park over a couple years. He graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 1988 and then moved to New York in order to ‘make it.’ He described how when he was growing up, you had to move to New York or Los Angeles if you wanted to be in the film or theater business.“It’s thrilling to be back here,” O’Malley said. “It feels like I’ve gone full circle. I’m here for the weekend so I hope to take in some films. I just love to be around people who love film. People have an appetite for films that are off the beaten path. Hopefully the festival will allow them to seek them out.”“Certainty,” which has screened at the Nantucket and the Boston film festivals, was picked up for distribution by FilmBuff and will be released in November.A schedule of all the events can be found at nhfilmfestival.com.Individual tickets are $12, Day Pass tickets are $35, and All Weekend Pass tickets go for $75. They can be purchased at themusichall.org and at the Rule Boston Camera Headquarters at the Discover Portsmouth Center.